The present invention relates to a fastening assembly for securing a floor mat to a carpet in an automobile.
Fastening assemblies for securing floor mats to floor panels in automobiles are described, for example, in Patent Literature 1. A male fastener is secured to a floor panel, a female fastener is secured to a floor mat, a projecting part extending from the male fastener is inserted into a keyhole-shaped latching hole in the female fastener, then the floor mat is slid along the floor panel, and, thereby, the floor mat is secured to the floor.
Prior art references discussed herein include:
Patent Literature 1: TOKKAI [Unexamined Patent Appln.] No. 2004-268731 (Gazette)
Patent Literature 2: Design Registration No. 1281521 (Gazette)
Patent Literature 3: JIKKAI [Examined Patent Appln.] No. H4-075208/1992 (Gazette)
Patent Literature 4: TOKKAI No. 2008-308085 (Gazette)
In the fastening assembly described in Unexamined Japanese Patent Appln. No. 2004-268731, in order to secure a floor mat, the securing operation requires that a male fastener be inserted in a perpendicular direction into a female fastener and then slid in a horizontal direction. This securing operation is troublesome.
The fastening assembly for securing a floor mat to a carpet described in Japanese Design Registration No. 1281521 has a slender plate-form main body, in which main body there is a mat attachment part for attaching a floor mat on the front surface at one end and a carpet securing part on the back surface at the other end. Because the mat attachment part and the carpet securing part are not in the same position but are at separated positions, the mat attaching operation with this fastening assembly is troublesome; moreover, because the carpet securing part cannot be hidden, its appearance is also a problem. Furthermore, in order to attach the mat attachment part to a floor mat, a pair of eye-hole (grommets) is attached for holding the floor mat from both sides into the through-holes in which the mat attachment part is inserted to effect securing, but only an elastic latching pawl is what joins this with the grommets, so there is a danger of the mat attachment part pulling out. For adequate strength, the latching pawl must be made thick. However, when the latching pawl is made thick, great force is required in the joining operation, so joining is difficult.
In examined Japanese Patent Application No. H4-075208 (1992), a fastening assembly for attaching a decorative board to a panel board is described. With this fastening assembly, the decorative board is positioned so as to line up with an attachment hole in the panel board, a shank of the fastening assembly is inserted into two attachment holes and then turned 90 degrees, for example, about its axis to secure the decorative board to the panel board. With this fastening assembly, the joining operation is difficult because there is no pre-attachment to the decorative board.
In unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-308085, a fastening assembly for an automobile mat is described, comprising a first clip attached to a floor panel, which is secured to a pad that the workpiece is being attached to, a second clip for supporting a mat secured to the pad, a mat fastener secured to the mat and an attachment knob for coupling the second clip to the mat fastener. The first clip has a tubular coupling part for coupling the fastener supporting the pad to the second clip. The second clip has a tubular coupling part for coupling to the coupling part of the first clip in a nesting manner. In order to couple the mat to the second clip, a hole in a holding part of the mat fastener secured to the mat is made to pass over the attachment knob coupled to the second clip and is turned about the axis from an unlocked position to a locked position. In order to secure the mat to the pad that is the workpiece, all that need be done is to push the linking part of the second clip that supports the mat into the linking part of the first clip secured to the pad. Consequently, the configuration effects latching or securing to the workpiece at a position where there is an attachment hole in the mat, not only preventing the mat position from shifting, but the mat can be accurately secured and maintained in the attachment position on the workpiece, and appearance is also good. In such a fastening assembly, it is desirable to enhance the holding force of the attachment knob after the mat has been secured to the pad. It is also desirable that, when manipulating the attachment knob, the operator feel that the securing operation is finished.